


Promises

by Dusklatte



Series: Before five years pass [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Canon divergence based on the timeskip, Canonical Character Death, Established Relationship, F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Grief/Mourning, I live for Claude being open and honest about his emotions with Byleth, Implied Sexual Content, Implied elopement, Injury Recovery, Lots of tender loving touches, Open conversations about their relationship, Sexual Content, Vaginal Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:33:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25496131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusklatte/pseuds/Dusklatte
Summary: “Byleth… Can you promise me something?”She looked over at him, her lips pursed together in worry. His tone of voice was one thing which concerned her, but the use of her name rather than ‘Teach’ worried her further. She feared that this would be him preparing for a possible death… she knew that he liked to plan for situations in advance, after all.“Don’t die. Please… promise me that you won’t die…”
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: Before five years pass [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873558
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57





	Promises

**Author's Note:**

> So, to start this off, (with slight spoilers for what is ahead! If you would rather not read this, either go to my next paragraph in the notes or get straight into the fic!!) I want to say that this oneshot is based around the premise that after Byleth falls off the cliff where the timeskip begins, she does go into the long sleep, **_but_** as she is found and healed, circumstances change and the long sleep is... well, not as long.
> 
> I also remembered that it was Claude's birthday today! And lucky me, I am... *checks clock* approximately three minutes away from midnight at the time of posting for me so phew! I managed to post it in time! Especially considering that this is the longest oneshot I've ever written...

Byleth frowned as she sat on her bed, looking at the sword which was propped up against the desk just across the room from her. When she first saw the weapon, she had felt very little – at the most, pride for protecting the Holy Mausoleum and her precious students. After that, she felt powerful. The sword _was_ a relic supposedly lost to history, alongside her crest, after all. Then she felt… sad and pained as she held it. She had lost her father because she had been unable to stop Monica - no, Kronya – from stabbing him, and her sword had been rendered useless in the process by an intruder.

Now she was being expected to head into the beginning of a war holding that sword, leading a group of _students_ to fight an Emperor who they could potentially have seen as a friend.

Aside from her inner turmoil regarding holding the Sword of the Creator once more, another worry in her mind was the ‘what-ifs’ of the current state of the world. If she had not chosen to lead the Golden Deer, would she be marching to Garreg Mach alongside Edelgard? Or would she be reassuring the remaining Black Eagle students about their current decision to remain behind?

After what felt like an eternity of doing nothing but staring and contemplating her decisions, a chill went down her spine. She couldn’t stay here for much longer. Soon, she would be standing on a battlefield with her students. Soon, they would be fighting.

Soon, the weight of life and death would be weighing on her shoulders, and she could only hope that the power which Sothis had granted her would be enough to keep at least her students alive. They were the future of Fódlan, after all. Even if they were barely much younger than her…

Not long after she forced herself to her feet and gently rested her hand on the grip of her sword, there had been a quiet knock on the door.

“Teach… Seteth and Lady Rhea are wanting us to attend a strategy meeting in the Cardinals Room…” Claude’s voice called out, before it creaked open slightly, as she hadn’t locked it earlier. He pushed his head through the gap, his usual light-hearted smile replaced with a frown. “They are saying that we can’t start until you are there.”

Byleth looked at him for a moment, before tightening her grasp of her sword and sheathing it. “Right. Shall we go there together then?”

She felt a hint of relief as a small smile crept onto his face. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Teach.”

When Byleth stepped out of her room, she quickly turned around and locked the door. She had a few students walk in earlier that day to talk to her, so she needed to make sure that nobody walked in without her being there. Once that was done, she started walking side-by-side with Claude as they made their way to the meeting.

Claude was the one who broke the lingering silence, when he noticed the conflicted look on Byleth’s face. “So… We’re really at war… It’s hard to process, isn’t it?” He muttered, before taking hold of her wrist. “If there is one thing that I am happy about with the current situation… is that I am on the same side as you.” Her steps grew hesitant for a moment as she processed what he said, which was enough to make him smile further as he continued. “And you know… I never could have come as far as I have by now if not for you. You may not have taught before you chose to be the professor of the Golden Deer, but your lessons were brilliant. They were both practical and engaging, and your experience as a mercenary definitely helped.”

Byleth had come to a stop by that point, her eyes wide and mouth agape. It was the most shocked he had ever seen her in the little under a year that he had known her. “Claude… Is that how you really feel?”

“Definitely! Ask any of the other deer, they would more or less say the same thing. You are a great teacher.”

“Thank you… That makes me feel more confident for the upcoming fights, if that is how you all feel…”

The two continued walking, again in silence, but with the atmosphere feeling much lighter after their conversation. Byleth had never realised just how her students had felt about her lessons – she had only ever really received feedback from Seteth who made ‘suggestions’ about what she should do differently, which she never did.

Unfortunately, the mood dropped instantly once they were close enough to hear a conversation coming from the room where they were meant to attend the tactics meeting. It was clear that Dimitri was there, and that Rhea and Seteth were attempting to calm him down.

“But- But I need her head! After everything she has done… Let me join them!”

“Prince Dimitri! Can we please wait for Claude and the Professor to arrive before we talk about our plan further?”

It was just as Seteth pleaded with Dimitri to stop as they entered the room, and straight away Dimitri’s hands flew down onto the table. “They are here now, so as I was saying, I want to join the Golden Deer at the front lines!”

Byleth raised an eyebrow in confusion as she sat down beside Rhea, with Claude taking the seat beside her. “What was that? The Golden Deer are on the front lines of the battle?” She did a quick scan of the many maps and documents scattered across the table, whilst Claude leaned in with wide eyes. “… The Golden Deer are on the front lines…” She moved her hand to rest on a map of where it was believed that Edelgard herself was set to strike, and saw the names of both herself and her students.

Rhea nodded, before closing her eyes. “The Golden Deer house are in possession of multiple Heroes Relics – The Sword of the Creator, Thyrsus, the Lance of Ruin, Freikugel, and the Aegis Shield. They are also greatest in number, and will be in the most danger of all Officer’s Academy students participating in the battle of the Empire,” she explained, followed by gazing at the windows of the room. “I understand your desire for that wretched child’s head, but your services will be required elsewhere during the battle, Your Highness.”

Dimitri gritted his teeth, and his fingers dug into the wood of the table. Everyone could clearly see it splintering before he sat down with a huff and folded his arms over.

“Now… Back to our discussion of the plans.”

* * *

* * *

It was late into the night when the meeting drew to a close, and similar to how they arrived at the meeting, Byleth and Claude left together. They were both on edge with how heavily involved they and the other Golden Deer were going to be during the battle, but were understanding of the reasons why that was the case. It still didn’t help with the foreboding feelings weighing heavily on their minds though.

“So… tomorrow…” he eventually whispered when they reached the area of the monastery beside the classrooms and training grounds. “We’re going to be in battle tomorrow…” The unease in his voice was something which Byleth had never heard from him before. “Byleth… Can you promise me something?”

She looked over at him, her lips pursed together in worry. His tone of voice was one thing which concerned her, but the use of her name rather than ‘Teach’ worried her further. She feared that this would be him preparing for a possible death… she knew that he liked to plan for situations in advance, after all.

“Don’t die. Please… promise me that you won’t die…”

She bit her lip, before shaking her head. “Claude… That isn’t something which I can promise. It is war, so even our survival is uncertain…” She responded, taking hold of his hands. “But… I can promise you something else. If we both survive tomorrow… When it comes to the time that you must return to Derdriu, I will join you.”

A concerned smile formed on his face before he shook his head. “You would be needed here much more than there…” He then turned his head towards the sky. It was dull and overcast – quite fitting for the heavy atmosphere at the monastery. “You heard what Rhea said… If anything were to happen to her, you were to take charge.”

“But you wouldn’t be here. And… I’ve grown quite attached to having you nearby, my precious deer.”

“B- Byleth!” His eyes widened as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the shadow of the classroom building. In the dim light, she could see that his face had turned red. “You said you would only use that nickname when we were in private! Not out in the open!”

“There’s nobody around though.”

“Dimitri could be.”

“He went straight to the Cathedral after the meeting.”

“Or guards.”

“Preparing for Edelgard’s invasion.”

For the first time since the meeting, Byleth laughed quietly. It was quite a delight so see Claude so flustered. For somebody who was good at hiding his true thoughts and emotions, getting him into such a state was quite the feat. And she was the only person who had been able to do that. Then again, he had done something similar in return – he had been one of the few who could tell her emotions even if she couldn’t display them, which in turn helped her in becoming much more open and expressive in how she felt.

That had culminated in an important turning point in their relationship after Byleth had taken on the power of Sothis.

* * *

* * *

_“I’ve seen the looks… I’ve seen the stares… They don’t see me as a human. I don’t feel any different to how I was before… The only difference is that my hair and eyes are a different colour,” Byleth muttered, sat on her bed staring at the ground. “I assume that you feel similar to them?”_

_“Teach…” Claude stepped inside her room, and gently closed the door behind himself. “I’m not here to judge you like the others,” he stated, resting his hand on her shoulder. He felt her tremble slightly, before sitting down, keeping his hand in place. “Because… I know exactly how you feel. To treated as something… different. Unusual. An outsider…” His hand gently stroked against the material of her coat, before continuing. “When I first came to Fódlan, when I was announced to be the next heir to House Riegan, I would be stared at, muttered at, and even spat at. Even my grandfather joined in. It is an awful feeling, knowing that you are being judged because you don’t fit in… I still feel that way to this day.”_

_Byleth had stopped shaking at this point, and was looking at him with concern in her eyes. “Clearly those people aren’t good judges of character… You’re a wonderful person to spend time with, Claude…”_

_“Heh, that just made my day, hearing you say that. But… That’s not what I want to talk about. What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t let anything like that get you down. Take what they say and let it make you stronger. Use what makes you different to your advantage.”_

_“Is that what you have been doing?”_

_“Well… Yeah.”_

_“Does it get easier?”_

_“Hmm… That’s a hard one. It definitely gets easier when you find the right company though. Like… I find it much easier to be myself with you.”_

_Byleth opened her mouth to talk, and only a quiet noise came out rather than words. She kept trying to find her words to react to what he said, until finally, she grabbed hold of his hands. “Why… Why does it have to be that you’re my student?”_

_He frowned at her words, and gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “What do you mean by that?”_

_“I… I just want to hug you.”_

_“There’s nothing stopping you, you know? This is your room; you can do as you want in here.”_

_Barely a second had passed after he had said that before her arms were around him, her head on his shoulder as she began to cry. He had only seen her cry once before, and that was when her father died. If this was enough to bring her to tears..._

_“Byleth…” He held her close, and ran his hands through her hair. He noticed her relax somewhat as he said her name, so he said it again. “Byleth… You may be my Teach, but we’re friends too. Friends are there for each other… even if it is for something as simple as a hug.”_

_“My precious deer…”_

_“H- Hey, where did that nickname come from?”_

_She sat up slightly, and finally had a smile on her face. “You’re precious to me, Claude…” He responded in turn with a smile of his own – a genuine smile which she noted met his eyes._

_His hand moved up to her cheek, and used his thumb to stroke it. “You’re precious to me too, Byleth…”_

_Neither of them remembered who initiated it, but after that, they shared a gentle kiss. Multiple of them, for that matter. They shared many more things that night, but there was one thing in particular which they both enjoyed – lying beside each other in the safety of the other’s arms, saying how they would be there for one another no matter what happens in the future._

* * *

* * *

Claude sighed quietly as he looked at Byleth before a tired smile formed on his face. “Perhaps… Perhaps we should go to our rooms now, Byleth. As much as I _really_ want to spend time with you before we prepare for the battle tomorrow morning, I don’t think that I would be able to sleep if we stay here for much longer, or if I were to stay in your room…” He muttered, the redness on his face from the use of her nickname for him beginning to fade. “When we get out of this battle though… We can make up for it. Deal?”

Byleth raised her eyebrow, before nodding. “I’m fine with that. How about… Your room, the midnight after the fighting stops?”

“Hah, isn’t that a little risky?” he quietly laughed, taking note of the smile on her face.

Byleth nodded, then responded with a question of her own. “Isn’t our entire relationship risky?” When Claude laughed in response once more, she took a step back and sighed. “Well… I suppose that I’ll see you tomorrow. You had better make sure that you are prepared – we won’t be able to keep that promise if either of us end up in the infirmary, can we?”

* * *

* * *

They were told that they had to leave. Garreg Mach had fallen, and all students of the Officer’s Academy had been told to gather their belongings and leave. Some had been able to arrange for family, friends, or a willing stranger or two to join them on their journeys home, others had fled to the relative safety of the Abyss below as they tried to figure out how they could continue on after what they had witnessed on the battlefield in the days preceding.

Claude had been shaken after what he had seen during the battle, and his fellow Golden Deer had noticed it as they attempted to discuss their own methods of getting home without being ambushed or killed by the invading Empire forces. He was silent, his fists clenched yet trembling at the same time. He had said no more than six words since they had gathered – “ _Teach was pushed off a cliff_.”

Eventually, they had come to an agreement on how they would return home. Hilda, surprisingly, had taken it upon herself to travel with Claude, to make sure that he returned to his grandfather safely in Derdriu, then would meet her brother there to return to her own home.

Except, Claude had other things in mind.

“Claude… this isn’t the way towards the Alliance,” Hilda had whispered when she noticed that Claude had very quickly changed direction once they had reached the villages at the bottom of Garreg Mach. He paused for a moment as she spoke, before shaking his head, and speaking for what was the first time in days.

“I know it isn’t.”

“Then why are you going that way?”

He turned still and silent again for a brief few moments, before he once more continued walking in that direction. Even if she didn’t know _why_ he was going that way, it was clear that there was a reason. There would be a reason behind everything which he did.

_She had a slight feeling that it may have been to do with their late professor._

After a few minutes of following him, Hilda’s eyes widened at the sight before them both. A large pile of rubble, which had fallen from a cliff-edge many hundreds of metres above… It looked almost as though an explosion of sorts had led to the massive mess.

Her eyes grew even wider when she saw Claude discard all of his belongings on the ground, rolling up his sleeves, before trying to start shifting the rubble.

“C- Claude… is this where…?”

The continued silence was more than enough of an answer, but seeing the faint streaks of tears down his face more than confirmed it. _Their Professor had been pushed from all the way up there… Meaning that her body would be down here, buried in the rubble._

As much as she wanted to return home, it was clear that Claude wouldn’t be leaving this area until he had some form of closure. Their professor had never returned following that battle, and unlike the other casualties, there had been nothing of her left behind to be buried. The only thing which had been done for her was a small display of flowers beside her parents’ grave, in the hope that she would be at peace with them both.

“I… I couldn’t live with myself when I saw it happen…” Claude eventually muttered as Hilda gave in and crouched down beside him to help shift the rubble. “There was just… just so much going on. Dimitri and I were being swarmed by enemies whilst Teach was evacuating the remaining students…” He gritted his teeth for a moment as he had to focus his energy on shifting a large stone which appeared to once be a part of a wall. “Then suddenly, there was a swarm of demonic beasts coming from the Empire’s forces… And some sort of _dragon_ appeared to fight it…”

“A dragon? But I thought that they were just myths…”

“That’s what I thought…” Claude muttered, before shaking his head and continuing digging around. “It didn’t take long for it to be overwhelmed by the beasts, and that’s when Teach…” Hilda could see his eyes beginning to water as he recalled the events of that day. “Oh, Teach… She went to help the dragon, before suddenly this man appeared… If only I had just taken out my bow and shot him before he attacked her! I could have stopped Byleth from being sent falling to her death!”

Never had Hilda heard such pain and such emotion in Claude’s voice before this point. He always had a cool, calm attitude no matter how dire the situation, but it clear that their professor had meant so much to him. She had to all of their fellow Golden Deer, but there had always been _something_ with the two of them which felt more than just a teacher-student relationship. They had been close friends, and were like partners in crime.

“I… I owe it to her to find her body and give her the burial she deserves, than allow her to just… just _rot_ under a pile of rocks…”

Hilda rested her hand on Claude’s back, and gave him a reassuring pat. He seemed to appreciate it, as he was just about able to force on the slightest of smiles in response. “I understand… I completely understand, Claude…” She then stood up, and went over to her belongings before pulling something out. “You may need to bandage your hands before we continue looking for the Professor though, you’re bleeding.”

Claude stopped hunching over the rubble at this point, and used his arm to wipe his eyes before looking at his hands. _She was right, he’d already managed to hurt them quite badly trying to shift those rocks._

As he rinsed his hands with a bit of water which they had with them, so that Hilda could help him bandage his hands, he began to look over the rubble for any little sign that Byleth could be there. Whether it be a piece of grey fabric from her clothing, the green of her hair, or even the tip of her sword, he was looking for those signs.

After a few minutes of allowing some of the pain to subside, once more, Claude was at the rubble again. Hilda held back from helping out too much at that point, only assisting when there was something which Claude was unable to move by himself.

Once the sun began to set, Claude remained where he was. It was not his determination which was pushing him on, however – it was his desperation. He wanted to see her one last time. Even if she had been crushed by the rubble, any sign of her would be more than enough. He needed the closure on whether she was truly gone.

Eventually, he let out a loud sob which managed to catch Hilda’s attention from where she was trying to see what food that the two of them had managed to get before they had been told to leave the monastery grounds.

“If… If we had won the battle, we would have been meeting tonight…” He muttered, slamming his fist down on some of the rocks. He noticed Hilda was looking at him from a distance, so he carefully chose his next words – he didn’t want her to know the full extent of the relationship which he had with Byleth. “We were going to celebrate…”

“Claude… Come on, maybe you’ve done enough digging for one day. You need to preserve your energy, as we still need to return home even if we do find the Professor…”

“I… I can’t, Hilda. I can’t!” His hands fell to his side as he began to feel tears pricking at his eyes once more. He didn’t expect for Hilda to hug him in response to that, but that is what happened. It did give him some comfort, knowing that he wasn’t the only person grieving for Byleth, but it didn’t provide the relief which he was looking for. The only way that he could do that was if-

His thoughts grew to a standstill when a sudden faint light appeared in the corner of his eyes. It wasn’t any sort of torch, however. Not many things had red light… And he knew for a fact that one of the things which did were the relic weapons. One of which being the Sword of the Creator… which Byleth was holding as she fell.

“H- Hilda, I need to-!” He broke out of her grasp, and pointed in the direction of the light breaking through between some of the rubble. “There! Help me dig there! I think it’s her sword!”

Hilda was stunned for a moment, before looking where he had pointed and gasped. She did her best to climb over the rocks which were in the way to get over to where Claude was now digging.

Before she could even move any rocks, she heard Claude let out a loud sob. “It’s… It’s her…” She couldn’t tell if it was relief or despair in his voice, but she took a glance towards the red glow, and bit her lip. It was definitely Byleth’s sword… and her hand was still grasping onto it.

The next few minutes were spent with removing as many rocks as possible that were surrounding Byleth, and eventually, more of her was unveiled. First it was her arm, then her torso, and her head. She was covered in a multitude of wounds from the rocks which had crushed her, and the pair felt sick at the mere thought of how painful it must have been for her.

Eventually, enough of the rocks had been pulled away for Byleth to be pulled out of the rubble, so they both took her by the arms and pulled as best at they could so that the rubble fell away from her legs. But… something unsettled both of them.

“Claude… Why is she still warm? She’s been out here for hours… The impact of the fall would have killed her instantly, or at least being buried under all of this rubble… A corpse shouldn’t be warm…” Hilda whispered, before resting her hand on Byleth’s chest. “She doesn’t have a heartbeat, so… how?”

“Teach never had a heartbeat. I don’t know why, or how, but she never has…” Claude shakily took hold of her wrist, and checked her pulse. “… Hilda… Is she breathing? Because… Because she’s definitely got a pulse…”

It was at that point that Hilda shrieked in horror. “Y- Yes… I- I think that she is… How is she alive though?!”

“I- I don’t know, but-“ Claude yet again began to cry as he grabbed hold of Byleth in a hug, and held her against him. “We… We need to get her to Derdriu.”

* * *

* * *

Neither one of Claude nor Hilda had expected the commotion which they caused upon their arrival at the Alliance’s capital. As they already knew, Hilda’s brother had been waiting there for her to return in order to take her back to their home, but as her journey to Derdriu had taken much longer due to her and Claude taking turns with carrying Byleth back whilst travelling on foot, Holst had started to get worried. He had even alerted Duke Riegan to the lateness of his sister, emphasising the point that Claude was meant to be travelling with her. A search party had almost been sent out to find them both.

Things were very quickly quietened down when Holst and the Duke had found out that they had been trying to take their near-mortally wounded professor to safety, away from the war-torn Garreg Mach.

“You could have sent a message in advance that you were going to be late.”

“ _How_ could we have done that, Grandfather? There were two of us, we didn’t pass through any towns or villages, and neither of us could carry a person on our own all the way here…” Claude muttered in response to his grandfather’s remark. “It’s not like I could have, hmm… Had a creature fast at travelling to get us here… Such as maybe… a wyvern?”

“I won’t allow that foul Almyran beast of yours to ruin the estate, Claude.”

Claude glared at the Duke, before folding his arms over and turning his back. “Then do you see why we took so long?” He then began to make his way towards the door of the room, but was very quickly stopped with a firm hand on his shoulder. “Can I _not_ go to see if she is okay yet? You’ve kept me here for about an hour by this point, and I would much rather be with her than you.”

“Just one last thing, grandson.”

He felt the urge to groan out loud, but instead turned around and gave his grandfather a blank stare. “What are you wanting me to do?”

“In one week there shall be the next roundtable meeting. You are to attend and give an account of the battle against the Adrestian Empire that took place at Garreg Mach. We need to know what we will be facing against in the coming war.”

Claude’s fists clenched at that point. “I probably wouldn’t have the most objective opinion on the battle. The best person who could give an account of the battle would be Teach, because she was involved in a lot of the tactics surrounding the battle as well as being a close confidant of the now missing Archbishop. Except, she is upstairs, lying unconscious.”

“Would you rather the son of Count Gloucester gives _his_ account of the battle?”

“Tch… _fine._ I’ll go.”

Claude then pushed at the door, and left the room as quickly as he could. There were times where his grandfather really would get on his nerves. He assumed that was most likely down to him believing that he wouldn’t be up for the task of leading the Alliance once he was to take on the role of Duke Riegan, because of his upbringing in Almyra rather than Derdriu.

As soon as he was certain that he wasn’t being watched as she left the room, Claude was quick to get to the guest room which Byleth was resting in. He had been desperate to go to her and hold onto her hand ever since the moment his grandfather had flagged him down to talk to him.

According to the healers which had tended to Byleth’s wounds, the state she was in was unlike anything that they had seen before. It was a surprise that she was alive, and that she had survived the fall off the cliff, let alone the journey to Derdriu. One thing which they did note was that she had responded very well to the healing which had been done, though many of her injuries would have to be left to heal naturally.

It would also likely be a few weeks, if not a few months before she would wake up, but so long as she was frequently tended to, her recovery would hopefully be a quick one.

“Byleth…” Claude sat down beside her, before taking hold of her hand. “It may not be exactly how you promised me, about coming back to Derdriu with me when the time came for me to return… But I promise I’ll take care of you. Even if the Church finds out that you are here, and want you to go with them to take Rhea’s place… I’ll be there for you whether you go with them or not.”

* * *

* * *

As the weeks passed, the time which Claude could spend with Byleth seemed to grow shorter and shorter. As her health was improving, the health of his grandfather was declining. It was likely that his grandfather only had a few months remaining, so Claude had to be prepared to take on the mantle of Duke Riegan and leader of the Alliance.

Another thing which seemed to be getting worse by the week were the tales of battles and losses happening across Fódlan. The worst of which had been a rumour from the Kingdom – apparently Dimitri’s uncle had been killed by the prince himself, and was now destined for execution. It had troubled Claude greatly, yet… he could believe it. He had seen how unhinged Dimitri had become over the last few weeks at Garreg Mach over Edelgard declaring war. He remembered the prince’s yelling at the tactics meeting the day before the battle about being the one to kill Edelgard.

“Byleth… I wonder if you can hear me whilst you’re asleep… It’s a question I’ve been asking myself ever since Hilda and I found you in that rubble…” He muttered, running his hand across a scar on her arm which appeared to have been caused by the magic of the blast which had sent her off the cliff. “If you can hear me… Can you make me another promise?”

The room remained silent, but even then, he hoped that she would accept what he was about to ask of her. “My grandfather, he… He’s not in the best of states. Chances are, I’m going to be taking on the role of Duke Riegan within the year. Could you… could you promise me that you will wake up before that day comes? I want to spend some time with you, without the burden of that responsibility…”

The silence lingered, aside from both of their breathing as he took hold of her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

* * *

* * *

Claude was silent as appeared to be reading a book whilst sat on a sofa in the lounge of the Riegan estate, but was actually watching his grandfather as he paced around the room, his new addition of a walking stick making a loud thud every time it hit the ground.

“Gloucester and Ordelia have succumbed to the Empire… Why did they do that without prior discussion?! The people are reliant on goods which pass through those lands!” The duke ranted, before taking a break to catch his breath and lean against a window ledge. “We are an _alliance!_ We make decisions regarding our lands at the roundtable, and…” Another brief break to catch his breath. “And those decisions must be agreed upon by the majority!”

For a moment, Claude felt tempted to get involved, but instead remained silent as his grandfather appeared to have more to yell out loud.

“That Count Gloucester is always seeking to undermine me… He seems to think that he, and that pompous child of his are superior to even the Alliance! No doubt he manipulated the leaders of Ordelia lands to-” At this point, Claude had closed his book, and had to quickly get to his feet as his grandfather’s hand grabbed at his chest. He pulled the duke’s arm over his shoulder, and frowned as he helped him over to the sofa to sit down.

He then picked up his book and placed it on a side table, and glared at his grandfather who was glaring back at him in turn.

“You may see this as a bad situation. I can understand completely – Count Gloucester believes that he can take on role as leader of the Alliance and do what is best for everyone against what you say. However, this can actually be advantageous for us, if you think about it,” Claude stated, folding his arms over. “The lands which are listening to the Empire’s demands are the ones which border the Empire. They aren’t, however, allowing any of the Emperor’s troops into Alliance lands. That is fortunate for us, in that they can’t try to do something such as try to take Derdriu or Fódlan’s Locket – two of the most advantageous positions which we hold.”

“I understand the point that you are making – but that is merely just _facts._ We already know that!”

“Allow me to finish what I was saying…” Claude stated, before he began to do his own pacing around the room. “We can use those facts to our advantage. Those lands are not resisting to them, and in turn, Edelgard is likely not to want to capture lands which are already being compliant. In addition to that, the war she is waging is mostly against the Church of Seiros. With the fall of Garreg Mach, where is the most likely place for her to want to conquer? The _Holy_ Kingdom of Faerghus. The kingdom which, at present, has no leader following Dimitri’s execution. For now, we allow the Kingdom and the Empire to play at each other’s throats, whilst the Alliance remains in a neutral stance. Our people will not come to harm so long as we do not allow more than half of those who attend the roundtable to listen to the Empire. So long House Riegan remains neutral, Gloucester and Ordelia side with the Empire, and Goneril and Edmund remain against, the Alliance should remain far from a priority in the Empire’s eyes.”

Claude stopped moving, and his eyes locked with his grandfather’s for a moment. Then there was silence. A heavy silence which he had no clue how to react to.

“I see that you have inherited Tiana’s… _Ambitious_ nature…”

“I’m simply stating what is likely one of the best ways to allow Count Gloucester to pretend that he is exerting his power, when in reality, we are utilising his ego and false pretences that he is in charge in order to keep the lives of all Alliance citizens safe and allowing us to build up resources for the _inevitable_ moment that we will be invade,.” Claude stated, his voice sounding exasperated.

All that happened after that, as he remained stood still, his grandfather stood up, hobbled over to him, and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Claude… You’re finally sounding like a leader. For the first time since you arrived here, I actually don’t fear the day I must pass my title on to you. I honestly thought that your… _other_ heritage would make it impossible to prepare you.”

He was then left alone, his hands clenched as he processed what he had just been told. That had actually been the first time he had been praised by his grandfather, but the moment had been instantly ruined by the dig at Almyra and the implications that his words held.

* * *

* * *

Five months had passed since the fall of Garreg Mach, and Claude was beginning to find himself feeling run down. His grandfather could barely leave the estate by this point – the only times he would leave would be for the roundtable meetings, which Claude was now also having to attend on a regular basis for if he were needed to step in as the Riegan representative. It was more often than not that this would be the case now, which had him fully aware that it likely wasn’t long now until he would hold the title of Duke.

What didn’t help the situation was that he had heard his grandfather preparing for his death. Telling attendants to have a headstone prepared for when the day came, who to invite to the funeral, and many other details which made his head _ache._

His only relief was when he would retreat to the room where Byleth was resting, where he could finally let his mask slip away and convey how he was truly feeling.

“Byleth… I have to admit, I’m feeling scared,” he whispered on one particular day where things had been extremely stressful. “It isn’t often at all that I feel like this… the last time that I did… It was when all of this happened to you…” He looked over the bandages covering her body, before closing his eyes and clasping her hand between both of his. “What I would give just to hear your voice… To know that you are with me, and I have one less thing to worry about…”

As per all the other times he had spoken to her, the room remained silent. He gave off a quiet sigh in response, his hands beginning to shake.

Unlike any other time, however, the hand which he was holding onto squeezed. Only slightly, but it squeezed.

“Like… this…?”

The whisper-like voice made him freeze before his eyes shot open.

“Byleth?!” He looked at her face, and he found his entire body trembling when he saw that her eyes were open ever so slightly. “I… I can’t believe that you…” He was quick to wrap his arms around her, tears pouring down his face. “You’re finally awake…”

She gave off a tired and weak laugh at his reaction, which was followed with a cough. That made him sit up, before he frantically looked around.

“I’ll… I’ll be back in a second. Don’t go falling asleep on me again, Teach…” He stated as calmly as he could, before running out of the room in a manner which was as far from calm as it could have been. When he returned, it was with a glass of water which he had surprisingly not spilled everywhere. “You, uh… sound like that you need this.”

Claude placed the water on the nightstand beside the bed, before helping Byleth to sit upright. He saw her arms shake as she took hold of the water and took a small sip. She then placed it down, and sighed. “That… makes my throat feel much better…” She whispered, before rubbing her eyes and glancing at Claude. “You look… different, Claude…” She then looked around the room. “This… isn’t my room at Garreg Mach… Where…?” Her eyes were wide as she turned her attention to Claude again, which made him gulp.

“Byleth… We are in Derdriu. You’re in the guest room in the Riegan estate, and…” He trailed off, wondering how best to let her know about the situation. He eventually opted to tell her the simple truth. “You’ve been comatose ever since Garreg Mach fell… five months ago.”

For a few moments she was still and silent, aside from her eyes growing wide.

“You were blasted off that cliff when trying to protect that dragon that appeared… At some point in those few minutes after, Rhea disappeared – there are rumours that Edelgard captured her. But… From there, Garreg Mach fell. We were given time to bury the dead and gather our belongings before being told to leave. I couldn’t leave without finding you though… And…” Claude fell silent, and Byleth tried to tell him that he didn’t have to continue, but he shook his head as he continued. “I spent an entire afternoon and half the night trying to find you in the rubble with Hilda. Then… Then we saw your sword. We thought that you had died after falling and being buried for so long, but… you were still breathing. We brought you here, and… you’ve been sleeping here ever since.”

“… I’m so sorry, Claude…”

* * *

* * *

His grandfather had died. Claude had woken up one morning to find that the estate was awfully quiet, aside from one of his grandfather’s attendants waiting for him outside his room to inform him of the news.

The first thing which Claude did was make his way to the room where Byleth was still resting, primarily because her body was still weak following five months of sleep. She had looked at him with her eyes filled with concern as he opened the door, used his foot to close behind him, before approaching her for an embrace.

“He’s gone…” He muttered into the skin of her shoulder, before sighing and releasing his grasp of her. “I never liked him too much, but it’s still painful knowing that he’s passed away…”

Byleth nodded slowly, before taking hold of his hand. “He was your grandfather, and he has been the only family you’ve known and been with since you were announced as his heir. It is okay to be upset…” She then leaned in, and gave him a gentle kiss. “If you need a shoulder to cry on, I’ll be here for you, my precious deer…”

A hint of a smile teased at his lips as she used her nickname for him. “The last time you called me that… It was the night before the battle where I almost lost you. When we made that promise to meet in my room…” Her other hand rested on the side of his face, her thumb gently stroking at his cheek. “We may not have been able to keep that promise, but… You are here, alive, and that more than enough for me.”

The pair kissed again, with Claude holding onto Byleth as though she was his lifeline throughout.

Sadly, the moment was disturbed by a knock on the door, with the same attendant which had broken the news of his grandfather’s death opening the door without waiting for a response. “Duke Riegan, I wish to remind you that even in light of this morning’s difficult news, there still needs to be a Riegan representative at this afternoon’s roundtable meeting with the other Alliance lords. That is all.”

When the door closed, Claude groaned loudly. “That is going to be fun… Lorenz’s father was desperate to overthrow my grandfather as leader of the Alliance – he is going to be a _delight_ when he finds out that I’m now the leader…”

“You’ll be fine… You’re strong, smart, and confident – the best qualities of a leader. From what I have heard about Count Gloucester, he seems to only have the ‘confident’ criteria ticked.”

For the first time that day, Claude laughed. “I’ve missed having you around, Teach.”

“I’m no teacher any more…”

“It’s a force of habit by this point. I can imagine that you’re still ‘Professor’ to the other Golden Deer, too,” he explained, before pulling himself away and sighing. “I guess that I had better get ready for this afternoon. If you need anything at all whilst I’m still here, I’ll do my best to sort it out for you.”

* * *

* * *

It took a few weeks of many attempts, but finally, Byleth was able to stand on her own two feet again. She did need some support with things such as stairs, or if she was up for too long, but otherwise, she felt free.

During the time she had been confined mostly to a bed or a chair, she had managed to quickly recover some of the strength in her arms and hands. When she was able to keep a pen in her hand for more than a few moments, she started writing a list on what she wanted to do once she was able to move around more in a notepad which Claude had found for her.

First on her list was ‘go outside’, which she needed _some_ help with, as it involved her going down the stairs. Once she managed to get out through the doors, she felt a huge wave of relief through her body as she felt the distant ocean breeze against her skin.

What she didn’t expect during her journey outside was to see a creature settled in the garden, basking in the sunlight.

“She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Claude’s voice called out from behind her before she felt his arm around her waist. “She’s been with me since I was a child… But my grandfather refused to allow her to join me here. In his own words, ‘ _That foul Almyran creature is not entering Derdriu whilst I still breathe_.’ When I sent a letter to my mother, telling her that he had passed… Her response arrived alongside my wyvern.”

“So… you grew up in Almyra? That would explain why it seemed as though he was quite harsh on you, based on that short amount of time that I knew him…” Byleth noted, before watching as Claude tensed up. “I don’t see how that should even matter… No matter where a person grows up, they should be judged by their character and their deeds, not by stereotypes and rumour…”

Claude sighed, followed by a laugh. “I think that I love you even more, hearing you say that…”

The pair remained outside for a good while after that, until Claude needed to return indoors to finish some work to do with a few domestic issues within Derdriu. That left Byleth alone outside, which is when she pulled out her notepad and checked off her first point on her list.

The second point was to be able to make some tea. She hadn’t had any tea since before the fall of Garreg Mach, and was surprised at how much she missed the taste of it. She missed the tea parties which she would have with her students too, but… they were her students no more, and the only one that she could have one with now was Claude. That is unless they paid a visit to Derdriu.

_Perhaps that was something she needed to add to her list… Write a letter to her students. Even those who live in Faerghus and Adrestia._

First, however, she needed to sit down for a few minutes. Her legs were beginning to feel quite weak.

She sat down on a bench near to where Claude’s wyvern was resting, before taking in the surroundings of the garden. It all seemed very showy – but as though it had been allowed to be ‘reclaimed’ by wilderness over recent weeks, primarily a certain flying creature with claws, a few stray wildflowers and some ivy.

After a few minutes of sitting on the bench, she stood up again and decided that it was now time to investigate the kitchen and pantry – she wanted to thank Claude for all the support and care he had given to her, in the form of one of her few non-battle specialities of tea making.

_And that was another thing she would have to add to her list… It was one thing moving again, it would be a complete other thing preparing to be able to fight again too. She’d have to start practicing with her sword again._

It didn’t take long to locate the kitchen, and she was quite amazed at everything that was there. It looked as though it could have been staffed by many people at one point, but now it looked as though only one person had been using it.

That reminded her… She had seen the entire estate bustling with people until the day that Claude’s grandfather had died. Now it was merely just herself and Claude, and the occasional healer who would check on her injuries. _Either Claude had told everyone to leave… Or his grandfather had told the people that they were no longer employed once he passed on._

_She was quite tempted to believe that it was the latter._

A smile crept onto her face when she finally found the tea supplies. She had to keep sitting down on a stool which was in the kitchen during the process, especially as she waited for the water to heat up. She had almost forgotten that it was quite a long process, but then again, every time she made tea in the past, it was always worth the time when she got to see the smiles on her students’ faces, and knowing that they felt able to be open and honest with her…

When the tea was finished, Byleth felt quite relieved knowing that the room that Claude would go to in order to do work was also based on the ground floor of the building. There was a study filled to the brim with books down the hallway, yet allowed in a lot of sunlight through the windows. It was definitely the sort of place she could imagine him wanting to spend most of his day.

She slowly made her way to the room, and opened the door slightly. She was met with the sight of Claude yawning as he had his legs up on the desk in the room, with his back turned to her.

“It looks as though old habits die hard, Claude…” Byleth sighed, placing the tea down on a table beside the door, before approaching him and resting her chin on the top of his head as she hugged him. “You’ll scuff the wood of the desk with those boots up there. I remember telling you and Sylvain not to do that more times than I can count…”

“Ah, of course, of course!” Claude tilted his head back, before flashing a grin at her. He then took his feet of the desk, kicked his boots off, and put his feet back up. “No boots, no scuffs. Thanks for the reminder, Teach!” He laughed, being met with a glare in response to his reaction to what she had said.

He did, however, put his feet down moments later, and grabbed a chair that was just to the side of them both and pulled it over for Byleth to sit on. “All joking aside, are you okay Byleth? I couldn’t even begin to imagine how bored I would be, not able to move around too much like you are…” He asked, giving her a concerned smile.

“I… I went to the kitchen and made some tea… Just like before the war started,” Byleth smiled, pointing to where she had left the tray of tea earlier, before sitting down and stretching her legs out. “I noticed that you’ve been busy an awful lot, even whilst helping me… And I always enjoyed having a drink with you.”

Claude felt his face heating up at her reasoning behind making the drinks, knowing that even in her weak state, she enjoyed spending time with him. “I’ll get them from over there then, you seem tired from all of the moving around you’ve been doing today.”

“Definitely… I’m probably going to feel sore tomorrow.”

When he returned to the desk, he noticed that Byleth was writing something down in her notepad. He tried to peer at it, but she was quick to hold it against her chest to stop him. “Excuse me, but this is my list on what I want to do now that I can move around again, and…” She turned her head away, her face slightly red. “And I’d rather you not see what it says right now, as it feels embarrassing having to learn how to do simple things again after being asleep for so long.”

Claude could tell that she was _somewhat_ lying about what she had written down, as her tone of voice as well as how fast she spoke didn’t seem to match her facial expression fully. She was embarrassed about _something_ on there, but it likely wasn’t a ‘simple thing’ as she had said.

“Okay, I won’t pry any further,” he nodded, making a mental note to himself to investigate at some point. “Let’s have a drink then… I wouldn’t mind taking a break away from some of this mind-numbing work.”

To both of them, they almost felt as though they had returned to the days before war was declared, as they spoke over their drinks. The only reminders that they were not in those times were simply a matter of appearances – they weren’t in Garreg Mach, Byleth was paler and more tired than she would have been, and Claude was not wearing his uniform, had a hint of stubble on his chin, and no longer had a braid in his hair.

When they had finished the drinks, Byleth shifted her chair closer to Claude so that she could rest her head on his shoulder as he continued his work. Byleth couldn’t help but notice just how much growing up Claude had done since she met him. He had started off as very laid-back and calm, but also cunning when he needed to be. He gradually became more open with how he felt – mostly to her, but sometimes to his classmates – and had ended up as one of her closest friends. Then, as things began to go downhill fast, he began to show his true capability of leadership, and that he was somebody who could be trusted.

Now, as he was working as the leader of the Alliance… she couldn’t help but admire just how much he was dedicated towards his position, and his people.

Eventually, she fell asleep on his shoulder. As she did, the notepad which was in her hand fell onto her lap, and it straight away caught his eye. He didn’t grab it straight away, however, knowing that she may just have been lightly sleeping and easily awoken at that point. Once her breathing turned heavier, he knew that he was able to take hold of it and have a glance at her list of what she wanted to do.

He could see already that the first two things, going into the garden and making tea, had already been crossed off. He continued reading through, and smiled at some of the things on there _. Go for an early morning/late evening walk around Derdriu. Do some stretches. Use the stairs without help._

Then he saw a few points which seemed to have been very recently added. _Write letters to former students (maybe Claude has their addresses?). Start training again (start with fists, then move on to sword)._

He also noticed that there was a second page of the list, so he quietly turned over the paper, careful not to wake Byleth. Her writing seemed much shakier and smaller than the other page, so he assumed that this may have been the first thing which she wrote once he gave her the pad. He had to squint slightly to read the page, until he was able to make out what she had written.

_Make up for breaking promise to Claude._

His breath hitched at what was written, which was followed by him returning the pad to its previous page and returned it to her lap. He could feel his heart racing as he glanced at Byleth as she slept against his arm.

He finally figured out why she didn’t want him to see what she had written down on the notepad.

For a short while afterwards, he did his best to focus on the work on the desk before him, but found his attention repeatedly being drawn back to Byleth. She had wrapped her arms around his own, but seemed to be uncomfortable as she slept on the chair.

_Enough work had been done… He didn’t mind leaving it at that for the day._

“Byleth…?” He moved his arm slightly, before giving her a nudge. “Would you rather lie down in bed for a while than sleep in that chair?” he whispered when her eyes opened, and was met with a slight nod. “Want to walk, or be carried?”

She yawned quietly, then straightened her back and stretched her arms. “Walk...”

Claude smiled and nodded, then carefully pulled her up to her feet. Her notepad fell to the floor, so he picked it up for her and passed it over. “I do have a question before I help you upstairs though…” he whispered, taking hold of her cheeks and pressing his forehead against hers. “Are you fine with staying in the guest room? Or…” He had to do his best to ignore the heat in his cheeks. “Or would you rather stay with me, in my room?”

Byleth looked at him for a moment, and smiled when she noticed his red face. “I wouldn’t mind staying with you…” she muttered, resting one of her hands on his. “I liked it when we shared a room in the past…”

* * *

* * *

Byleth had forgotten the delights which came with having a hot bath. She had been able to clean herself before that point with a basin of warm water and a sponge, as her first attempt at having a bath after her months-long sleep hadn’t gone down too well as she managed to fall asleep whilst running the water, and it had alarmed Claude when he realised that water had started dripping down into the lounge through the ceiling as the water overflowed. They had both decided that it would be best to wait for when Byleth’s body was stronger, and when she had a proper sleep routine.

As she sank down into the water, she could feel the aches across her body simply fade away. The only thing she wanted to disappear were the multitude of scars and mostly healed wounds across her body from the day where she fell. Most of them she didn’t even know where they came from – so she assumed that they were as a result of being trapped under rubble and from the attack which made her fall in the first place.

She closed her eyes, trying to take her mind off the injuries. She hoped that just concentrating on the heat of the water and its gentle movements as she breathed would help calm herself down. Instead, she heard a scream. Her own scream… The one she let out as she found herself falling.

Instead, she decided to grab hold of some of the soap and started to lather it into her skin. That was more relaxing, mostly because of the scent of the soap. It reminded her of the time she would spend in the greenhouse in Garreg Mach, tending to the flowers and plants during her spare time. She remembered another time where she had given Claude one of those flowers that she grew in there, and the blush that had covered his face afterwards.

That was much more relaxing that focussing on the reminders of that battle.

Byleth remained in the bath until the water began to feel as though it was cooling down, which is when she pulled herself out and leaned against a wall. Her legs were beginning to feel weak again, but that was likely because of how long she had been in the bath, so she waited for a moment before taking hold of a towel to wrap it around herself.

She then left the bathroom, and made a beeline to the bedroom in order to get into the clothes she had prepared in advance. Except, she hadn’t been expecting to bump directly into Claude when she got to the door.

“Claude!”

“Byleth!”

The two stared at each other for a moment, before Claude quickly turned his back to her as he covered his face. “I, ah… I just wanted to check if you were okay as you were in the bath for a while, and…”

Byleth laughed, took hold of his wrist whilst using her other hand to keep the towel in place, before turning him around again to press a quick kiss to his lips. “You’re adorable when you are flustered, Claude.”

He gulped at the sight of her before him, which was followed by him leaning in once more for another kiss, hands moving to rest on her shoulders. “And you’re adorable all of the time. But, ah… perhaps I should leave you to get some clothes on before we get ahead of ourselves.” He then stepped away from her and turned around again to go towards the stairs.

Byleth frowned as he left her line of sight, then sighed as she went into the bedroom. She could tell that he was hesitant to go much further than kisses and sharing a bed at present… Perhaps he was worried, considering how fragile she had been in those first weeks after waking up. But… she was starting to recover. Her aches and pains were quite rare now, and she had even started going out and about more.

When she was dressed, she started making her way down the stairs, before stopping as she saw Claude sat on the bottom steps with his head in his hands. She rested her hand on his shoulders, and proceeded to sit down beside him.

“Hey. What’s the matter with you? You seem down, Claude…” She whispered, before taking hold of one of his hands and giving it a squeeze. “You can talk to me about anything, you know.”

He turned to face her, then reciprocated the hand squeeze. “You’re probably going to think of this as really… silly, but…” He sighed, and closed his eyes. “I miss the intimacy we used to have before you got hurt. I know that you’re in a much better state than you were when you woke up, and do keep wanting to ask if you want to do anything like that again, but I worry that if we do anything too soon…”

Byleth sighed, and shifted across the step so that she could lean against him whilst keeping hold of his hand. “I understand. If I had found you under similar circumstances, I would be doing the same,” she reassured, before kissing his cheek. “We don’t have to go the whole way, you know… We can start little, then sooner or later we can return to usual.”

Never had Claude felt such a weight raise off his shoulders so easily before that point. But… he still had something else which he needed to say. “I, ah… also read that notepad of yours. On the day that you moved into my room… Both pages of it.”

“I’d be more surprised if you _didn’t_ read it, Claude…”

His jaw dropped, but he started laughing anyway. “I forgot that you know me so well, Teach.”

* * *

* * *

Months passed, and steadily, Claude and Byleth began to develop a routine together. Claude was obviously quite busy at times with work to do with leading the Alliance, but could always make time for Byleth. Byleth, however, had finally started her training again. They both had been fully aware of the war slowly consuming Fódlan.

Recently, they had heard tales of a beast in former Blaiddyd lands, leaving a bloody trail of imperial soldiers in its wake. There were times where the rumours claimed it was moving closer to the Alliance, and other times towards the west of the continent.

Not much was going on in terms of the Empire’s interactions with the Alliance, aside from less resources coming through from places such as Gronder Field. Claude had been having to make excursions to the border in order to arrange deals to provide the original levels of resources, though that was quickly becoming a financial strain which Claude couldn’t put on the backburner for long.

Aside from that, Byleth had started contacting her former students once again, explaining that she had survived the battle and was residing in Derdriu. She had given strict instructions in letters which she sent to her students in Empire controlled lands that they were not to tell Edelgard that she was alive, or else the Empire’s army would be marching on the city within days. She had also told all of them that if any members of the Church asked about her, they were also not to know – she was not in a suitable state to fight in any war, and may not be for months or even years yet.

“You sure that you are wanting to train today? It’s beginning to get quite cold out there, Byleth,” Claude asked, watching as Byleth pulled her coat on and picked up the wooden sword she had been using recently. “It is getting into winter now…”

Byleth nodded, before walking over to the door leading outside. “War doesn’t pick and choose what weather it fights in – we have to be prepared no matter the conditions if we do have to fight in the future.”

Claude sighed, realising that Byleth wasn’t picking up his hints that he didn’t want her to do her training today. “I get that, but… Are you sure about _today,_ of all days?”

“Yeah. I’m certain… Why, is there something important about-“ Byleth then stopped, and turned to look towards the calendar which was near to the door. The wooden sword dropped to the floor, and she bit her lip. “I completely forgot… Or rather… I tried to shut it out of my mind… It doesn’t feel like it has been one year already, I was asleep for almost half of it…”

He went over to her, and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “I was wanting to know… if you wanted to try and sneak into Garreg Mach to see him. Reports have been saying that the monastery has been abandoned for a few months now, with no signs of the Empire having taken control of it…”

She was silent for a moment, before nodding. “I… wouldn’t mind going. Besides… I never had the chance to gather my belongings before everyone had to leave. There are a few things there which I left behind, and I hope haven’t been taken by thieves…”

He nodded, before gesturing for her to follow him. “I think as a just in case though, we should take some weapons with us… Even if Garreg Mach is abandoned, there are no guarantees that Edelgard won’t have spies there. No doubt Hubert, knowing our sort of luck. So…” He led her into the study, a grin forming on his face. “Can you give me a hand in moving this bookcase to the side?”

Byleth sighed. “There has been a secret room here all of these months, and you never told me?”

“Well, I didn’t even know it existed until my grandfather left me a note in his will saying that it was here,” he shrugged, before pulling at the shelves as Byleth pushed. “He used this room to safely store Failnaught, House Riegan’s relic weapon. When I found out about it, I felt it would be an appropriate place to keep the Sword of the Creator safe too, until you recovered enough to wield it again.”

She nodded as she watched Claude pull at the door’s handle, the noise of the heavy wood scraping across the floor forcing her to cover her ears. When he let go, he then lit one of the candles which were located on the desk in the study, and gestured for her to follow him inside.

As expected, the two weapons were there, resting against the wall. Byleth knew that she would see the Sword of the Creator again, but upon resting her hand on it, she felt hesitant. The last time that she used the weapon…

“… After everything I did, I wasn’t able to stop her from being captured by Edelgard…” she muttered, slowly wrapping her fingers around it.

“You’re talking about Rhea, aren’t you? And… And I bet that she was the dragon you were protecting, right? What was it called again… ‘The Immaculate One’?”

“Yes…” She finally picked up the sword, and took a deep breath. “But it is not something I will let happen again.” She sheathed it in its usual place, and watched as Claude picked up Failnaught, his eyes wide with admiration as he watched the red glow form around the weapon.

“Well… Shall we head off to Garreg Mach then, Byleth?”

* * *

* * *

It had taken a good part of the morning to fly to the abandoned monastery with the assistance of Claude’s wyvern, and they had landed without much trouble near to the stables, which felt eerie without any sign of life aside from the three of them. The wooden doors of the pens where horses, pegasi, and wyvern would rest were creaking in the wind, with the hinges threatening to give way if the screws within them weren’t oiled and tightened up soon.

It was obvious that it had been abandoned in haste.

But, looking at the state of the building was far from their purpose there.

“Hey… If you don’t mind, Byleth… If my girl here accompanies you to the graveyard, I need to go and check on something. I’ll be no more than five minutes, I promise.”

Byleth raised an eyebrow, but nodded as she patted the head of his wyvern. “Five minutes. Any longer and I’ll send her looking for you.”

He smiled in response, before turning around and briskly walking towards the marketplace as Byleth and his wyvern went to the graveyard. All that he was wanting to do was to check inside the greenhouse, to see if any plants – namely flowers – were still growing in there.

When he got there, however, he found that the doors to the building had been locked. He was tempted to reach behind him to use blunt force with his bow to force it open, but changed his mind when he remembered that it wasn’t just a simple iron or steel bow on his back. Instead, he dug around in the nearby bushes, found a large enough rock, and took a deep breath. He focussed on the glass of the door, and threw the rock with as much force as he could muster.

He felt like a vandal when the glass shattered, but knew that it had got the job done as he reached his arm into the gap where the window once was, found the inside door handle and locking mechanism, and released the lock keeping the door sealed. It swung open, and relief flooded through his body when he realised that aside from the glass now covering the floor, the greenhouse was exactly as it had been left… And there was a large area with somewhat overgrown flowers, exactly as he had been wanting.

Carefully, he picked out a bunch of the nicest looking flowers, and smiled as he looked at them. It was at that moment he heard his wyvern land just outside the greenhouse – his sign that it was time for him to reunite with Byleth again.

When he returned to the graveyard, he saw Byleth sat in front of her parents’ grave, her eyes closed as her hand rested on the headstone. He felt sad at the sight of it, as he could see the stains of tears down her face. Her grief for Jeralt was still fresh to her, especially considering how much she did in the aftermath of his stabbing to keep him alive.

“Byleth… Maybe you would like to give your parents these?” He crouched down beside her, quickly removing a flower from the bunch before she opened her eyes, offering out the remaining flowers for her to take. 

Slowly, she opened her eyes, before letting out a shaky sigh as she nodded. “You got these for me to put down…? Thank you…” she whispered, bringing the flowers up to her nose to smell them, before placing them down. “I’m sure that they would love them…”

Claude then reached up to her hair, and carefully weaved the remaining flower between the strands. “And that flower is for you, By,” he stated, now resting his hand on her leg. “We can stay here as long as you need, just let me know when you are ready to try and get your belongings together.”

“I think I’m ready to go to the dorms now, actually…” she whispered, her hand reaching up to touch the flower in her hair. “I’ve said all that I need to say to my mother and father for now.”

They both stood up, and Byleth very quickly laced her fingers between Claude’s as they began to stroll towards where her room was. Her grasp tightened when they walked through the passageway which connected the cathedral bridge to the main building of the monastery, with the cobwebs and cracked stone truly making the fact that Garreg Mach was abandoned sink in.

Then they passed the classroom buildings. That was where Claude began to hesitate – this was the place where they had last spoke before the battle which almost killed her. The place where he regretted not asking if he could spend the night with her, even though it was his own suggestion that they remained apart.

Finally, they found themselves in front of the door to what was Byleth’s room. Just in case, she pushed against the door in order to see if it had been unlocked, but it remained sealed. She then reached into her pocket, and pulled out a key. She could only hope that after almost ten months of being unused, the door would unlock with ease.

That is exactly what it did, and she let out a sigh of relief as she pushed the door open.

“It’s all intact… I’m amazed…” She whispered, stepping inside and taking a deep breath. “A bit dustier than I remember, but… still intact…”

Claude seemed quite amazed at that too, and made a mental note to check his own old room before they returned to Derdriu.

Byleth very quickly went over to the closet, and pulled it open. “Well… Everything aside from my clothes are intact. It looks as though bugs have been at them. But that isn’t what I wanted…” She crouched down, and took hold of a wooden box which was stored near the bottom, before blowing off some dust.

He seemed quite curious about what was in there, and followed her over to her bed as she sat down to open it. Inside, there was a familiar looking leather-bound book, and a ring.

“My father’s journal, and my mother’s ring… They are my most important possessions, as they are all that I have left of the two of them…” She rested her hand on top of them for a moment, before picking up the ring. “My father said that I should give this ring to the person I know that I will spend the rest of my life with… I already know that will be you, Claude… But it feels too early to consider marriage, doesn’t it?”

Claude was quite taken aback by Byleth’s remark about marriage, and the most he could do was open his mouth in shock. “You… You want to spend the rest of your life with me?” he eventually whispered, his hand taking hold of the one of hers which wasn’t holding the ring. “I feel the same… About the rest of our lives and marriage, that is…” He gulped, still overtaken with surprise. “We’re young. We can take time to figure things out.”

Byleth nodded, before a smile crept onto her face. “So… How about we make that into another of our promises? We promise to spend the rest of our lives together.” Once Claude had agreed, she returned the ring to the box, and sealed it shut once more. It was gently placed on the floor, and she took a deep breath.

He was puzzled for a moment as to why she had breathed like that, before he felt her lean in close to him, rest her free hand on his cheek, and pressed a kiss to his lips. He hadn’t been expecting her to do that, but was happy to reciprocate.

“Claude… We’re the only ones in Garreg Mach right now…” She whispered when she parted, keeping her forehead and nose pressed against his. “Could we… Can I…” She struggled for her words for a moment before sighing as she went with the more succinct method of putting her request across. “I want you in me. Is it possible for us to go all the way this time? I… I have been meaning to ask for a few days now, but it’s only now that we’re here, in the room where we had sex for the first time… that I feel confident enough to ask.”

He was caught by surprise once more by her words, but he smiled and nodded. “As long as you’re comfortable with it, I’m up for it, By…” He whispered, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, before leaving a trail of feather-light kisses across her cheek towards her jaw.

A slight shiver went down her spine when he pressed a kiss at the junction between her jaw and throat, which she responded to with her hand on his cheek moving to his growing out hair and stroking through it. His free hand came to rest on her thigh, and the pads of his fingers lightly pressed into her skin.

Once he had left another few small kisses against her throat, Claude untangled his other hand from hers, and as though she was the most delicate of glassware, he pulled her legs up onto the bed before climbing onto it himself. There was a delicate blush across her face which he could only smile at when he leaned back in to give her yet another peck to the lips.

“I love you, Byleth…”

“And I love you too, Claude…”

After that, Claude’s attention moved over to the coat which Byleth was wearing, and carefully pushed it off her shoulders, and watched as the material pooled around her elbows, ready for her to shrug off and discard on the floor. In turn, she reached for the shirt which he was wearing and loosened the top of it. She then stroked her hand down his throat and chest, relishing the warmth of his skin compared to the cold air around them.

Claude sighed quietly as his hands then focussed on her arms, which were decorated with many scars from all those months ago. Despite how much he hated how she received them, he gave the biggest of them either a gentle touch or a soft kiss, his gratitude that she was still there with him. She noticed how he seemed disheartened as he looked at each of them, so she decided to draw his attention away from them by pulling her arms away, and using them to take hold of her shirt and pull it over her head.

The expanses of skin across what remained uncovered of her chest and stomach were mostly unblemished from that battle, and he left ghosts of touches all across her skin as he took in just how beautiful she was with both her scars and without. It was enough to make her give off a quiet gasp, as that in combination with the warmth which was pooling in her body was slowly beginning to take over her emotions.

“That was a lovely sound, By…” Claude muttered as he leaned in to her ear, before gently easing Byleth down onto the sheets of the bed and pulling her legs apart slightly, just so he could lean down and press a tender kiss to her lips without her knees pressing into his stomach. “I wouldn’t mind hearing it again…”

Quietly, she laughed, and he smiled at her as she did so. He felt almost drunk on every noise which escaped her lips, which made him feel the urge to hurry things along, but he knew that this was to be a slow, calm session of lovemaking, not something rushed and hurried. It was almost as though it was their first time yet again, not taking into account the gentle touches they had made across each other’s bodies over recent weeks and months in preparation for this day.

Once he had taken in the noises she had made, he asked for her to prop herself up on her elbows for a moment. He then reached behind her, and deftly removed her bra and tossed it over towards the growing pile of her clothes. She then lay back once more as his hands moved to rest on her breasts. It did not take long for Byleth to make more of those addictive little noises as he fondled her, his fingers pressing into her skin lightly, and his thumbs teasingly stroking over her nipples.

As he did that, Byleth did her best to focus on removing the rest of his shirt, but found herself having difficulty. Claude was clever with his touches and knew when to press against her that little bit rougher when she had almost undone a button, making her shake and lose a bit of her progress.

“Claude… Take your shirt off… Please…” She eventually whispered after only successfully removing two of the buttons, and so, he eased his hands off her and obliged her request. “Thank you…” she muttered once he did so, before resting her hands on his shoulders and pulling him down to kiss him yet again.

Instead of the usual quick kisses which they shared up until that point, they remained together – the main differences were that Claude’s hands grew to rest on her hips, whilst her hands explored the skin of his torso. Over recent months, she had seen him shirtless many times, and what she noted was that every time she saw him, there seemed to be a bit more muscle than the last time. She liked the feeling of running her hands over the toned muscle.

She then sighed, and gave him a small smile. “Are you ready to move on?”

“Yeah… I’m looking forward to.”

Byleth then moved her hands to his trousers, and saw him gulp. It was their first time going this far in months, so she couldn’t blame him for being somewhat anxious.

“Don’t worry, my precious deer…” she whispered to reassure him, kissing him once more as she fumbled around with the fastenings of his trousers before pulling them loose. He nodded, and in turn began to remove her shorts.

Momentarily, Claude had to pull himself off her so that he could properly remove what was left of his clothes, and Byleth did the same. They then looked at each other in a moment of silence, taking in the fact that they were seeing each other naked for the first time in months. The only exception to this was the flower, which was still carefully weaved into Byleth’s hair.

The first one to move of them both was Byleth, who returned to one of her initial actions of running her hand through his hair, whilst her other hand gently came to rest on his hardened cock. He quietly groaned in response, then gave her a smile as he reciprocated the touches by using the one hand which he wasn’t using to support himself on the bed to gently stroke against the pooling wetness between her legs.

Of the two, Byleth’s actions were the first to falter, primarily in response to the actions of the other. Claude had delicately pressed a finger into her, sending a shiver of pleasure through her body.

“Ah…” she whimpered; her moans quickly being silenced by Claude’s desperation to keep those noises to himself by pressing his lips against hers again. Despite this, her noises became more frequent and louder as he made a slow thrusting motion with his finger, and eventually adding a second.

Claude withdrew his hand when he realised that her hand had fallen off him, and her fingers were grasping at the bedsheets below them. “You ready, By?”

“I’ve never been more ready,” she whined, having not been expecting him to pull his fingers away from her. He nodded at her response, before lining himself up with her opening.

“Tell me… if I go too fast. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable…”

“I will.” She smiled up at him, before she gasped quietly at the feeling of him slowly pushing into her. She had missed that feeling, and she could tell that he felt the same based on the growing look of adoration in his eyes.

They started out slow, with Claude taking his time with each thrust as Byleth wrapped her arm around his neck. They both enjoyed that, but following on from Byleth moving her legs to rest around his hips, Claude couldn’t help but pick up the pace. She was a warm and comforting presence to him, and he could only hope that she felt the same.

(She did.)

It didn’t take long for both of them to find their actions turn erratic and messy. Byleth could barely keep her hand out of his hair, and was doing her best to kiss him as his thrusts turned quick and unstable.

Eventually, she came, and her body very quickly grew tired and heavy. In response, Claude gave up on using his arms to support himself on the bed, and wrapped them around her in a comforting embrace as he reached his own orgasm. He fell down onto the bed, making sure that the only place he kept his strength up being his arms so that he could keep her held close when he pulled out of her.

They were a mess.

Both of their bodies were plastered with sweat, and there was a mess of both of their bodily fluids both on them and the bed. Despite that, the room was filled with a calmness neither of them had felt since before the war had started.

“I may have said this many times already, but… I love you, Byleth,” Claude eventually whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

She smiled back at him, and quietly laughed. “You have, and I can say the response just as many times… I love you too, Claude.”

He then took in a deep breath, and placed his hand on her cheek. “Did you know that ‘Claude’ is the name which I took upon coming to Fódlan? The name which I grew up with… The one which I went by until a few years ago, in Almyra… It is ‘Khalid’.”

Byleth hummed, before a quiet whisper escaped her lips. “Then… I love you, Khalid. I love you, Claude. No matter the name that you go by, it’s the person that I fell in love with.”

His heart was racing at her words, and yet again, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “Remember our conversation before this? Where you mentioned spending the rest of our lives together, and marriage? Well… You’ve just confirmed to me that I’ve chosen the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. I would marry you in a heartbeat,” he muttered, before pulling apart from her and looking between them both. “Oh… We should clean ourselves up before we return to Derdriu tonight.”

She nodded as she sat up, before looking around and sighing. “When do you think that we will come here next?”

“Well… Unless you want to come here on the anniversary of Jeralt’s death every year… I guess that it would be the millennium festival, when we promised to have that reunion with the other Golden Deer.”

* * *

* * *

As promised, on that fateful day in the year 1185, the Golden Deer had joined together at Garreg Mach in time for the millennium festival. It felt as though they had never been apart in the first place as they cut their way through bandits and thieves who had turned the abandoned monastery into their hideout.

As they returned to the main building of the monastery, there had been many conversations, many of which being based around the shock of each of the former students over the time they received a letter from their supposedly dead teacher (Claude and Hilda being the exceptions).

Once indoors, they had been surprised to then reunite with the students who had transferred into the Golden Deer class, and a majority of the key members of the Church and Knights of Seiros.

Of all of the newcomers, Sylvain had made the biggest reaction to seeing Byleth – a bigger one than that of Seteth and Flayn, who had only just now found out about her having actually been alive over the past five years.

“Aha! I knew that I couldn’t believe Felix’s negativity on the way here!” The redhead grinned as he threw his arm over Byleth’s shoulder, not noticing the harsh glare that he was getting from Claude. “The lovely Professor Byleth Eisner!”

Byleth bit her lip as she quickly pulled his arm off her, and shook her head. “You… _May_ have gotten a _little_ detail wrong there, Sylvain…” She whispered, before raising her hand as Claude wrapped his arm around her waist. “My name is actually Byleth von Riegan.”

“What?!”

**Author's Note:**

> I have been debating making a follow up fic to this, but it is very much just a thought right now. May happen, may not. Depends on how my imagination takes me!


End file.
